DVRPC Supporting Communities Program
The purpose of DVRPC's Supporting Communities program is to connect local governments in the region to funding and technical assistance to advance transportation planning and project implementation efforts. We can do this by:
- Providing support to conduct public engagement to community residents and leaders to understand their preferences and needs for transportation improvements.
- Developing planning or capital projects based on what we hear from residents and local leaders, and informed by relevant transportation data (such as asset condition or crash history) as appropriate.
- Providing assistance to implement priority projects through available DVRPC funding programs or others.
- Coordinating with county, state, and transportation planning partners to advance local priority projects.
- Facilitating connections between local governments, subject matter experts and resources
- Adapting what we learn through these targeted efforts with specific communities, to benefit other communities across our full portfolio of work.
Program Structure
This program is intended to support local governments in different ways across the planning and project development pipeline. In general, there are three types of support DVRPC staff can provide through this program:
- Public Engagement
Outreach and listening to communities within a municipality so that planning and capital project development reflect the needs of residents. DVRPC may be able to help in the following ways:- By convening of local stakeholders to identify community priorities
- By developing a public engagement strategy
- By creating and promoting a local survey
- By empowering local governments to host successful public engagement events, offering best practices and ready-to-use materials
- Planning
DVRPC staff can provide support to local governments on a number of topics including transportation, smart growth, and environmental planning. DVRPC may be able to help in the following ways:- A consult call with staff planners to discuss an issue or question
- A workshop to identify issues and brainstorm solutions with local leaders and residents
- A small technical assistance project to study a local issue
- A DVRPC work program project
- A consult call with staff planners to discuss an issue or question
- A workshop to identify issues and brainstorm solutions with local leaders and residents
- A small technical assistance project to study a local issue
- A DVRPC work program project
- Implementation
Work to fund and deliver infrastructure projects. This may include prioritization for established formula funding programs in PA and NJ, technical assistance in identifying opportunities and preparing applications for discretionary grant programs, and other similar assistance.
One intent of the program is to create a pipeline of transportation plans and projects that can be further developed and/or implemented in subsequent fiscal years. Supporting Communities is an evolving, collaborative program, incorporating lessons learned each year to enhance the program and better meet the needs of local governments and their residents.
Not seeing what you need here? Want to get in touch with staff about your idea? Please visit the Municipal Helpdesk at MuniHelpDesk@dvrpc.org.